A wide range of unwanted organisms, organic and non-organic compounds are found in natural, industrial and municipal waters including seawater. Some of these pollutants pose severe problems due to their resistance to biodegradation and/or toxic effects or can cause undesirable effects when used in a further process or if discharged into a new environment. Removal or neutralisation of these contaminants is therefore desirable and is most often required by law before proceeding.
Numerous primary, secondary and even tertiary processes are currently employed for the treatment of these polluted waters leading to the removal or neutralisation of the pollutants. They include physical and chemical processes such as precipitation, filtration, and treatment with chlorine, ozone, ultra-violet sterilisation, to name but a few.
However, the applications of these mechanical and chemical processes are not without challenges. For instance, filtration alone to a high degree requires high pressure losses and thus lost energy. Inefficient mixing, injection and application of treatment chemicals leads to a treatment overdosing which adds to operating costs and can create further problems with disposal of by-products. Electrochemical processes, where used, are generally inefficient, bulky, have high capital cost and consume high amounts of energy.
The present invention provides an alternative solution to those presently available and specifically provides an improved process apparatus with a number of technical advantages.